Review: No Time to Die

Before I get started, let me be clear that there will be minor spoilers in this review. Minor ones. It's really impossible to talk about what sets this flick apart without that. But I'll try to keep them to things that won't ruin the experience. 

No Time to Die may be the most eagerly anticipated James Bond film ever made. It ends Daniel Craig's historic run as the seminal and iconic antihero, secret agent, and assassin in explosive fashion. This one has been a critical darling, but the fanbase seems wildly split. Let's be fair, though: a lot of the negative fan reaction comes from "fans" who haven't seen the film and are knee-jerking something that's quite frankly, not even a thing in the movie. 

I'll get it out of the way without taking a stand on whether it would be a good or bad thing. James Bond is not turned into a black woman, nor is he changed in any way whatsoever. Bond is still Bond, through and through, and as a very minor spoiler just to put minds at ease, by a little over halfway through the film he's even back to being 007. But the new 007, Nomi, is badass as well. In fact, all THREE "Bond Women" in this are badass. But we'll get to that in a moment. 

So, does No Time live up to its legacy? Is it a worthy Bond film and is it a worthy closeout for Craig? Let's check out the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of No Time to Die. 

The Good

This film is, quite frankly, an outstanding James Bond film, and possibly one of the greatest ever made. That's not even an exaggeration. It has everything you want from a franchise outing: a megalomaniac, over-the-top villain with simple motives who wants nothing less than to control the entire world; wild action from start to finish; phenomenally capable and sexy Bond women; plot twists that make your head spin; the reappearance of old allies and enemies, and pretty much everything else you want.

This one also has something that's something of a rarity in Bond films: it tugs at your heart strings. People have said the "changes" to Bond in this film are unprecedented and somehow immasculating. I couldn't disagree more. This is an older, more seasoned Bond who is dealing not only with his own PTSD, but with the fact that he's capable of caring about other people. In many ways it's reminiscent of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, another divisive entry into the series which was hated when it came out but in retrospect has been hailed as one of the better entries. It also mildly recalls the Timothy Dalton outing, License to Kill, and as we all know, Dalton is also a divisive Bond. Personally, I liked him. 

Much has been made about Ana De Armas' ten minutes of screen time, and it's all true. She completely steals the show. I kind of want a spinoff series with her CIA Agent Paloma. Jeffrey Wright's Felix Lighter is probably my favorite incarnation of the character and he truly shines in his final screen outing as well, with some phenomenal character moments of his own. Likewise, Christoph Wolz chews up the scenery during his last appearance as Blofeld. Lea Seydoux glows as Madeline Swann, who if I am not mistaken is the only actress to ever play the same Bond girl twice in two films, in a continuing story. 

What makes this film stand out from other Bond outings is that it's about character as much as it's about beating the bad guy. There are some really deep and poignant moments for all the characters here, and as wonderful as they are, they never once slow down the movie. 

Finally, this one wraps up pretty much all of the dangling plot threads: Blofeld, SPECTRE, Bond and Swann, even a leftover beat that goes all the way back to Casino Royale. It's complete, but it's far from neat and tidy, and as a Bond film it shouldn't be. It should be a tightly-plotted, beautiful, explosive mess, and that's just what it is. 

And yes, stick around because at the end of the credits, you DO get those famous words... "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN."

The Bad

I honestly have a really hard time coming up with anything bad to say about this flick. We had a hard time following it at the beginning, but that's because the projection was horrifically bad at the theater where we went to see it, and the sound mix was so off that if there was any sound effects or music at all, you couldn't hear the characters speaking. But that's the theater's fault, not the film's. 

If I had to come up with something negative to say about it, it's that some of the character deaths I wasn't crazy about. But again, that's because I didn't want to see those characters die, not because they weren't done well. So it's more personal than a criticism of the film. By and large they were handled well when they happened. 

Some of the story beats and plot twists, I suppose, were a bit over telegraphed, but again, is that just a trope of Bond films? Possibly. 

Some people hate the fact that this isn't the cheauvanistic, uncaring Bond we've seen in the past. Others don't like that this film definitively gives us a finish to Bond's career as a double-0, feeling that even when actors change the character should continue doing his thing and always be open-ended. For those folks I guess this just isn't your Bond, and that's okay. Sometimes the things you've loved in the past move on without you, and you just have to let them go. 

That being said, I've been on record as stating that save not having black hair, Craig is the best Bond ever insofar as portraying the character that Ian Fleming wrote--the literary Bond--and the literary Bond had emotions and developed attachments. Fleming states in the books that he visits Vesper Lynd's grave every single year, and paints the picture of a broken Bond when his wife is killed in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. 

I will say that as cool a character as she is, Noma was a bit wasted, as was Paloma. Both could've been given a bit more meat in their roles, but yet again, this is a Bond film, so the focus was rightly on him. 

Yeah, there's very little bad to say about this entry in the franchise. 

OOH. I've got it. I wasn't crazy about the song. It was too soft and gentle for a Bond song. Bond songs either need to be bombastic or sound like something out of a sultry film noir lounge act. This one was disappointing, particularly since Billie Eilish is capable of both bombastic and sultry. This one just didn't do it for me. I guess it rang a bit too...sweet, I guess is the word? Tender? Yeah, it just didn't work overall. 

The Ugly

As one might expect, the effects and cinematography in this film are nothing short of glorious. We get to see gadgets, and finally, we see a car with machineguns in the headlights really go to work. The effects for the MacGuffin are stunning, as is the reveal of what it is, what it does, and how it works. The evil lair at the end is everything you want from a Bondian villain's lair, complete with nefarious scientific experiments and death traps. 

The cinematography goes between absolutely stunning panoramic shots--the film even makes chase scenes beautiful--and frenetic action, without resorting to the all-too-easy shaky cam and without using tricks like slow motion bullet time that usually exist to cover up a director's inability to film fight scenes. The actors and their stunt doubles flawlessly execute fight scenes and stunts, and the quiet moments truly feel intimate. We see locations all over the world, and each has its own personality without being a parody or stereotype of the location. 

The cinematography and direction in this film are characters unto themselves. If the film ever did get slow, the sheer direction, pacing, and film style will pull you along without realizing it. It's that gorgeously executed. 

Summary

In my recent review of Halloween Kills I said that there's almost no such thing as a perfect movie. No Time to Die may prove me wrong, though clearly it's divisive enough that it's hard to call it perfect. Then again, what Bond film after Connery's run isn't divisive in some way? Daniel Craig's Bond will go down in history as the grittiest Bond, the only Bond whose entire run has been a single, continuous story, and the most human and ultimately, the most tragic Bond we've ever seen. No Time to Die is one of the best Bond films I've ever seen, and frankly, an outstanding way to close out Craig's run. I give it a rare five out of five tubs of popcorn.